Occasional
rantings about the state of the world, the dominion of Canada, the province of Ontario, the city of Toronto and the riding of Parkdale-High Park. Also the state of Michigan, and the state of my kitchen floor. Leans left, just so you know.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Perfectly good reasons to impeach, any one of which should be sufficient.

Hugh at Firedoglake compiled this excellent list. It was too good to just let it disappear (everything is chronological at FDL, so old things just fall off the end ...) and just crying out for more additions. So, I wondered if he'd be OK with my posting it here, where it might be visible for longer. FDL is a brainstorming and neworking par excellence, but a quiet little blog like this is more into medium- and long-term memory. Next project: a geneaology of Washingon DC.

So this from Hugh:

I thought this might be a time to repeat my incomplete list of Bush era scandals and ask for any suggested additions.

1. Walter Reed outpatient treatment2. Fired US attorneys3. Scooter Libby/Plamegate4. Iraq: lack of preparation for occupation, looting, including the National Museum, too few troops, lack of training, lack of equipment, lack of securing loose Iraqi munitions, disbanding the Iraqi army, banning the Baathists, the CPA, Paul Bremer, losing tons of money literally, lack of international inclusion in reconstruction and security, weak Constitution, formation of sectarian parties, weak government5. Afghanistan and the resurgent Taliban and opium production6. Iran and saber rattling7. North Korea, ditching the 1994 agreement because of dubious uranium program, the plutonium program which led to a fizzled first nuclear test, and something like a return to the 1994 agreement8. Osama bin Laden, where are you? Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and terrorism9. Civilian contractors10. The Military Commissions Act: torture, indefinite detention, the end of habeas corpus, and kangaroo courts11. Hurricanes Rita and Katrina, the destruction of New Orleans, and the aftermath12. NSA wiretapping13. SWIFT surveillance of financial transactions14. Black prisons and extraordinary rendition15. Homeland Security: white elephant (organization), black hole (money)16. K Street Lobbyists, Jack Abramoff, North Marianas17. Kyle “Dusty” Foggo and the CIA follies18. Duke Cunningham19. Tom Delay20. Mark Foley21. Cheney and Energy Policy22. Tax cuts for the wealthiest23. Global warming: refusal to join Kyoto, denial of manmade origin, continued reliance on fossil and carbon based fuels, little movement on CAFE standards and conservation, political interference in scientific reports (Good guys: Hansen, Peltz; bad guys: Cooney, Deutsch), listening to Michael Crichton24. Terri Schiavo25. Big budget deficits and vastly increased national debt26. The stacking of the federal judiciary27. Medicare28. Medicare Part D29. Healthcare (in general)30. Cooked intelligence and the Office of Strategic Plans/ Doug Feith31. 2000 Presidential election32. 2004 Presidential election33. Attempts to torpedo the 911 Commission34. Failure to implement 911 recommendations35. Marginalization of the UN; John Bolton36. Preventive war doctrine37. Loss of US reputation internationally38. No serious attempt to achieve peace between Israelis and Palestinians39. Underfunding of basic research40. Alberto Gonzales41. FDA: drug testing42. EPA: mercury levels for coal plants43. Porter Goss and the gutting of the CIA44. Militarization of intelligence45. Rampant cronyism46. Signing statements47. Unilateral Executive doctrine48. Overuse and abuse of the National Guard and Reserves; posse comitatus49. Increasing unpreparedness of US ground forces (Army and Marines)50. US balance of trade deficit51. 2005 Grassley Bankruptcy bill52. Mexican cross border trucking and safety concerns53. Karl Rove’s security clearance and no firing of Libby co-conspirators54. Detention of families for immigration violations; ICE raids55. Dubai Ports deal56. The Patriot Act; the Patriot Act extension57. Attempts to privatize Social Security58. The War on Science59. David Safavian, former head of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy60. Presidential adviser Claude Allen stealing from Target61. Bush casually admits about lying about decision to fire Rumsfeld62. Armstrong Williams and paid propagandists63. Decimation of the Labor Department64. Net neutrality and media policies65. Backing Israel while it destroyed Lebanon66. Presidential Daily Brief 8/01: Bin Laden determined to attack in US67. EPA chief Christie Todd Whitman declares Ground Zero safe for cleanup68. Sago mining disaster hearings and MHSA’s David Dye who walked out of the hearings69. Harriet Miers nomination to the Supreme Court70. Vetoing stem cell research71. Attack on Plan B contraception, staffing Women’s Health positions with religious conservatives: Dr. Eric Keroack at Health and Human Services who thought birth control demeaning to women and Dr. David Hager at FDA who tried to keep Plan B prescription only. His wife contended in divorce proceedings that he had repeatedly sodomized her without her consent.72. Clear Skies Act and Healthy Forest Restoration Act73. Missile defense shield that doesn’t work; withdrawal from ABM Treaty74. Leandro Aragoncillo naturalized Filipino-American in Cheney’s office (previously Gore’s) accused of spying for the Philippines and possibly France, pled guilty to unlawfully possessing secret US government documents75. Defunding overseas AIDS programs that promoted condom use for prevention.76. Call for a constitutional amendment declaring marriage to be between one man and one woman.77. Opening up Bristol Bay, the last pristine large-scale salmon fishery in the world, to oil drilling78. Accusation that Clintons trashed the White House before leaving, including stealing the Ws from keyboards79. Gannon/Guckert a working male prostitute in the White House press corps80. Native American trust funds and the Trust Responsibility to Indian Country81. Selling creationist materials at the Grand Canyon gift shop claiming it was 6000 years old82. Banning photographing return of coffins of slain American soldiers83. False military reporting: Pat Tillman, Jessica Lynch84. AIPAC espionage scandal; former DOD employee Lawrence Franklin pled guilty to passing information on Iran to Israel through two AIPAC employees85. Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, Bagram86. Asserted right to open US mail87.88.89.90.91.92. Refusal to grant security clearances to OPR (Office of Public Responsibility) lawyers investigating the role of Gonzales in NSA wiretapping thus quashing the investigation

2 Comments:

oceanbreeze said...

This really pissed me off back in 2001. HF, I always enjoy your comments at FDL

http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/arsenic.cfm

President Bush has canceled a health regulation that would havereduced allowable levels of arsenic in U.S. drinking water from50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb. According to the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), arsenic in drinking watercauses cancer of the skin, lungs, bladder and prostate inhumans.[1] Arsenic in drinking water is also linked todiabetes, cardiovascular disease, anemia, and disorders of theimmune, nervous and reproductive systems, EPA says.[1]Furthermore, recent evidence suggests that arsenic even at verylow levels equivalent to 10 ppb in water interferes withhormones, making it a potent endocrine disrupter. Hormones arechemical messengers that the body produces to regulate criticallife processes.[2]

The current U.S. arsenic standard of 50 ppb was adopted in 1942.After a decade of study and public review of scientificevidence, EPA proposed the stricter standard while Bill Clintonwas president. Mr. Bush reversed EPA's decision shortly aftertaking office.

Thanks for the list! This is really helpful, and it's probably unavoidable that there are a lot of overlapping issues.

But I would get a bit more specific in some items:

--I see Civilian Contractors here, but I really think Halliburton should be mentioned by name. As well as the term, "war profiteering."

--Under Global Warming, I would add lack of a national initiative to find, promote and fund alternative energy sources. Or even just to establish "free market" incentives for present day energy-saving technologies, such as a national program that would allow consumers to sell back their excess energy to utility companies.

--Bush's deficits and debt seem a purposeful effort --through war, tax breaks and idiotic, religious-themed spending programs--to defund the government, ie, to do to the US what the neocons say Reagan did to Russia.

--The K Street Lobbyist program is simply one arm of a much broader program to pack Republican true believers into every aspect of government:

1. The Legislature, through arrant redistricting a la Texas, as well as through Justice Dept. investigations and the K Street Project;

2. The Judiciary, through JD firings (at least).

3. The entire infrastruture of the government, down to the lowliest typist, through Patrick Henry University, as well as by throwing loyal but unqualified campaign workers into serious positions in every aspect of government. ("Hm, typist or Rebuilder of the Iraqi Stock Exchange? Your choice, kid!")

--Some of these items could also be combined with pertinent side-notes, like Cheney's Halliburton and tax-cut profits, and Exxon having the largest profit in the history of American business last year.